Out On Bad Behavior
by Romulus123
Summary: In the Elemental Nation, some criminals serve their prison times by entertaining the masses. Only the worst of their ilk, though. The murderers, the serial killers, thieves, and fraudulent individuals. They are forced to fight in televised scenarios until their time is up or they die. Whichever comes first. Naruto is a young teen who is about to be thrown into this world by force.
1. Chapter 1

**Wow. It's been a while since I've uploaded anything. This is an experiment really. A plot bunny that wouldn't leave me alone. It's a Modern AU. Sort of. IT's hard to explain but I'll try to let the story explain itself. Most characters will be the same as they should be but some OOCness is possible and is to be expected. I've twisted things. Different back stories. I haven't decided whether I'll diverge or not. I kind of want to tell the canon story in a non-canon way. We'll see. Bear with me. I'm accepting of ideas. I'll take them into consideration at least.**

* * *

"Mr. Uzumaki."

A pair of blue eyes snapped up to gaze at the man speaking. Presiding over the trail, the elderly man was wearing white robes and a large, strange hat that had the character for 'Fire' printed in red ink on it.

"You are fourteen years of age, correct?" The age man asked in an amiable tone of voice.

The blonde nodded in response, "Yes, sir." He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. The jumpsuit he had been provided with was too big for him and the courtroom was hot. Though, that could just be the heated glares that were being thrown his way from the other side of aisle. His opposition.

The old man in the front of the room looked down at his stack of papers, examining them carefully. He soon returned his measured gaze back onto the boy, "Mr. Uzumaki, you are being charged with two counts of murder in the third degree, victims being Ken Takayama and Yuzu Shen, along with the one count of assaulting an officer. These are serious charges, Mr. Uzumaki." His wrinkled hands took the papers, lifting them and tapping them back into order against Judge's bench.

The boys eyes darted around the room again as he pulled at the collar on his neck. The action caused the cuffs about his wrists to jingle. The sound snapped him back in time just a week ago.

_"Oi! Uzumaki! Where do you think you're going so soon?"_

_The blond froze in his tracks, cursing under his breath. He didn't want to deal with this shit today. Not after detention and having to put up with being screamed at by a teacher. His feet kept moving, worn sneakers thudding quickly against the cracked sidewalk. Couldn't they leave it alone?_

_"Hey! Don't ignore us, Uzumaki! Hey. I'm talking to you, bastard!"_

_A hand latched onto his shoulder and he was forcefully turned around. The red hood of his sweater fell down off his head, releasing the spiky blond locks that fell about his ears. He looked up to greet the two unfortunately familiar faces._

_He mumbled quietly, "Ken. Yuzu. What do you want? I don't have any money today..." The bastards had bled him dry this month. The delinquents. They were the worst type of people. Both were pushing at least six foot three inches, a full head taller than Naruto himself. It went without saying that they were older than him. _

_"What do we want? Ha!" The brown haired Ken laughed, pushing the runt again, "We don't want anything, shitstain. We just need to give you your daily dose of Hell. You know the drill." _

_Another shove sent the first year stumbling backwards into the grass, though he managed to keep from falling. He was starting to get jittery. Were they planning to beat him again? His hands curled into fists. He was so sick of these guys._

_The other goon took notice of the blond's hands and grinned like an asshole, "Oooooh, is Narutard planning to fight back today? You that's gonna work out for you? Been watching some action movies lately or something?" He cracked his own knuckles, throwing his head from side to side to get his neck to pop sickeningly._

_Naruto took a step back, bringing up his hands, "Just leave me the hell alone, alright? What the hell did I ever do to you guys anyway?!" _

_Ken just chuckled again and stepped onto the grass towards the kid, "Oh, nothing really. To be honest, you just make a nice punching bag." He lunged forward, causing the blond to flinch and scramble back some more. Yuzu laughed loudly and Ken straightened up, "Bitch. No one cares about you, Uzumaki. You make a nice punching bag and no one cares because you're trash. Apparently your parents think so, too. What? With those clothes?" _

_Naruto's hands tightened again, blue eyes narrowing. He could take a lot of abuse. He was used to it. But...that always managed to dig under his skin. He wanted to kick the living shit out of these two. It was an impossibility, but hey, better to go down swinging right? His demeanor change and he just scoffed, "Gonna keep slinging insults or are you actually going to throw a punch or two? My time is wasting away faster than your GPA."_

_Ken raised a twitching eyebrow, looking over at his friend. A shrug was Naruto's only warning before the brute rushed at him, his shoes stomping across the ground. Blue eyes widened as Ken planted his foot and wound back, ready to break a face._

_The world slowed for Naruto and his ears were filled with the roar of rushing blood. The fist was coming towards him with all the nastiness and ill content that was resting in his own heart. _

_But it was slow. Or at least it felt that way. He moved out of the way, pivoting quickly on his right foot. Ken's face lit up with surprise as he whiffed past his target and Naruto pulled back his own arm before driving home his knuckles into the older boy's cheek. Four front teeth slammed down on a fleshy lip, and Naruto found himself grinning when garnet crystals erupted from the torn skin._

_Ken stumbled off balance, clutching the left side of his face. His lip was bleeding and his eyes were burning with angry, "You're a dead man, Shitstain!" He immediately threw himself back at Naruto, intent on inflicting as much pain as possible._

_The result was the same this time with Naruto's fist impacting the right corner of his mouth which caused a spray of blood to paint the grass red._

_Stumbling back again, Ken growled and dug into his pocket before pulling something out violently. Yuzu's eyes widened as a blade flipped out of his friends fist but Ken was already rushing towards Naruto, rage in his eyes._

The knife awoke something primal in himself. It scared the life out of him. Then he heard this voice in the back of his head telling him to fight, to survive. Instead of being scared, he was angry then. Righteously angry. He just...he just wanted to...

"Mr. Uzumaki!"

The teen started violently and focused back onto the man who sat above him, "Y-yes?"

"Did you hear what I said?"

"No, sir. Sorry..."

The man sighed and took off his hat, revealing fully for the first time his aged face, "I said that, due to the severity of your crimes, you will be tried as an adult to the full extent of the law. How do you plead?"

Naruto turned to the attorney that had been appointed to him, only to find the man fiddling with his tie. A knot formed in pit of his stomach. He had no chance. He knew how these things worked. You had to have money to get off in these cases. Money to buy a lawyer who cared. One that could convince people that he was innocent. As he looked around the courtroom, Naruto took note of the two sobbing mothers and stoic looking fathers.

The state prosecutor had made him out to be a gangbanger. A parentless delinquent who was mad at the world. Naruto was a dangerous liability. He needed to be put away.

His eyes squeezed shut and his fists clenched. He let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding as he stood up.

"I...plead guilty, Lord Hokage..."

The leader of the city, the grand judge, and executioner slammed the gavel against the bench, "Then you are guilty, Mr. Uzumaki. I sentence you to fifteen years in Konoha Correctional and Detainment Facility. This case is closed." Hiruzen stood and eyed the boy with something akin to pity.

The knot grew tighter in his abdomen. He was going to be sick. He was going to prison. He was fourteen and going to prison. His classmates had talked about what happened in the prisons.

The cities had found a way to prophetize and dispose of the undesirables in society all at the same time. They called them Freedom Battles, rather ironically since no one ever walked away with their freedom. They pitted prisoners against the inmates of other villages and televised it.

Naruto was a dead man. His eyes were glazed over as the officers pulled him away. _'I should have let the bastard get me with that knife...I'm so dead...'_

* * *

The following day found Naruto shackled and sitting as the lone passenger on a prison bus. His chains jangled as the bus turned onto a worn dirt road.

From what he could tell, they were some ways out of the city limits. When he pivoted his head around to look outside he was amazing. He had never been outside Konoha. Not even once. Now that he had gotten the chance, he could see why it had its name. The road they were on seemed to be cutting through as immense forest that stretched on for miles and miles without end.

The butt end of a rifle entered his line of vision as a helmeted guard prodded him rather harshly in the forehead, "Don't get any ideas kid. Not like I'd expect anyone like you to try to escape. But even if you did, there's no where to go." He could almost hear the grin behind the mask as the guard scanned the forest as it flew past, "The facility is practically inescapable anyway. But if you did manage to get out, there's nothing but forest for you. You will never get out."

Naruto knew it was a mistake as soon as he opened his mouth, but he responded, "Just follow the road right?"

The guard was silent for a moment before he just shook his head, "That reminds me. Sorry kid."

"Sorry for wha-"

His world went black in a flash of pain as the stock of the rifle cracked into his temple.

"Poor bastard."

* * *

The awakening he got was just as rude as the way he was put to sleep. His eyes snapped open when he impacted the hard packed dirt, mouth filling with red dust as he shouted and sputtered. When his azure eyes raised, the image of black boots filled his vision, along with the growling of a deep voice. "Get on your feet, you little shit." Naruto quivered. Keeping his eyes low, he wandered to his feet, and then shouted when he was slammed to the ground again, catching his face against a sharp rock. The guard didn't care that he was bleeding. "I said - "Get up"!"

Naruto shakily got to his feet, and then wished he hadn't. The compound was concrete, with bars on the windows, courtyard surrounded by security fences and miles of barbed wire. Guards were crawling all over the place, stationed in towers, marching the perimeter; all with rifles in their hands, ready to be fired. If they were all wound as tight as his new tormentor...

"MOVE!"

He immediately started walking before he could be shoved again, his feet carrying him through the threshold of a fenced in tunnel. Dark and damp it was, as he moved quickly through it, eyes darting about, his system flooding with adrenaline. He quickly realized why the fence was there. The tunnel to the main complex cut through the prison yard and all around him Naruto could see his fellow inmates. They wore bright orange jumpsuits, and more than a few of them were rippling with muscle, their noses crooked. Naruto gulped, looking down at his own thin arms and scrawny legs. How was he supposed to beat someone like that?

'_I stand out like a sore thumb...so dead...'_

He turned to look and almost immediately regretted the action. They were already pointing, some of them at least, and laughing. His ears picked up the chortling clear as day even the boots of his guard stomping around. The blond dropped his eyes to his shoes figuring it would be safer to not make any eye contact.

Who was he kidding? Did he hear someone say 'Fresh meat'? Now that was just cliché.

However, the panic inducing experience ended as soon as the guards forced him through the interlocking doors at the other end of the tunnel. The giant steel barriers sealed shut behind him and silence filled his ears.

He found himself shoved down a hallway lit by bright ceiling light. He managed to catch the sign. **Inmate Registration. **That made sense he supposed. The whole feel of the prison seemed utilitarian; military. There was no color in the place, he noted as his boots thudded against the slate tile underfoot which matched the seamless grey walls. It would suck all sense of colour from him.

The hallway went on for about a hundred feet before he was pushed through a set of doors. The room behind, thankfully, was less intimidating than the tunnel. The side of the room opposite him consisted of a group of four secretaries protected by what looked like plexiglass.

As he approached the desk his guard the directed him to, the woman behind the glass stated into a microphone, in a bored tone of voice, "Information please?"

"Inmate name, Naruto Uzumaki," The guard replied, now looking off a tablet, "Age, fourteen. Height, 178 cm. Weight, 80 kilograms. Eye color is blue and hair is blond. No surviving relatives." He return the tablet to a pocket on his pant leg and reached out to grab what looked like a sticker from the woman.

Naruto blinked when the man held it out to him, "What's that?" The tan colored material was about the size of his palm and seemed to be changing colors ever so slightly. There was a symbol on the thing that he immediately recognized as Konoha's symbol. The Leaf.

The guard sighed in exasperation, "This is your tag, Kid. Made with State of the Art, sophisticated biotech that you probably wouldn't understand." He paused for a moment at Naruto's dead stare and reluctantly concluded, "It has biometric beacons. Tracks blood pressure, heart rate, hormone levels, etc...it also serves as a GPS locator." The guard's lip pulled back from his teeth in a wicked sneer. "Where do you want it, kid?"

Naruto gulped, and started thinking of places that might not be super awkward. Any joint would be strange, any frequent muscles would be strange... The guard was grinning maniacally, and it was making the teenager uncomfortable. "My ribs...I guess...I dunno..." his only other option was over his bicep, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to be boasting about where he came from in this place.

The guard, with startling accuracy, unzipped Naruto's jumpsuit, slapped the sticker between his third and fourth ribs, and then zipped the jumpsuit up again. The walls were already starting to have an effect on Naruto's eyes, as his traffic-pylon orange jumpsuit had faded to a mottled brown. "Sit still kid."

"Wh-"

Naruto jumped as a needle was plunged into the crease of his elbow, a small vial of blood filling up quickly. The guard removed it, and turned away again, leaving the teen clutching to his arm. "OW!"

"Suck it up, lily-white."

Naruto started. "Lily-white?"

"Yeah, kid. Same colour as the place where the sun don't shine."

His discomfort skyrocketed.

The guard stuck the vial of blood into a machine, and waited impatiently, tapping the toe of his boot against the grey floor. The clunky old machine whirred and spun, and started to beep gently. Naruto stood, still cuffed, in the center of the room and waited patiently, looking around at the room. The secretaries were a giggly bunch, the youngest of whom couldn't have been much older than he was. Her eyes were big and brown, her hair curly. He gave her a small smile. She averted her eyes. '_Right...' _He thought to himself, grumbling, '_I'm a fucking murderer...first girl to show me attention and I'm a convict.'_

The machine gave an ear-splitting shriek and started to light up, a siren wailing through the halls. Steel walls began to slam down along anything breakable, including the glass the secretaries hid behind. The curly-headed girl who had smiled at him vanished, her brown eyes scared.

The guard threw him to the ground and started shouting for backup. Another needle, this time in the back of his neck. Naruto's vision went fuzzy, and his limbs went dead. There were people all around him, rushing madly. He went past rows of steel doors, before being thrown into a small dark room. A voice told him to be patient.

The door closed. His cell was black as pitch for hours...

Then he was blinded as electric bright fluorescents lit up the room. It was padded. The door opened and he crawled away from it quickly, still trying rub his eyes into seeing again.

"Get up, kid."

It sounded like the same guard from earlier as he was hoisted to his feet and pulled forward by the armpit. Whatever he had stuck him with earlier must've worn off because he could walk independently now.

_'What the hell is going on?!'_

His vision started to return and he quickly noticed that the grey walls had turned into white ones. The guard dragging him along turned towards him and grinned, the look unsettling since Naruto could only see his mouth.

"Looks like I misjudged you, kid." The guard said as they turned down a hallway labeled **Lab Operations**, "You might not be a lily-white after all."

Stumbling slightly over his own feet, the cuffed teen almost hit himself in the face, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You'll find out soon enough."

The guard pulled him through a set of doors that had to be opened with a code and swipe of what looked like a clearance card. That wasn't good. What did 'Lab Operations mean?

It meant nothing good, as Naruto soon discovered. It looked like something out of the countless Sc-Fi movies he'd watch. There were control panels and levers all around. Test tubes and beakers. However, the thing that really made him nervous was the contraption in the center of the room. It was sleek and silver, and clear tubes snaked around it, leading away to God-knows-where. Shaped like a coffin, the machine was big enough to hold a person and suddenly Naruto felt as if he knew what the operation was going to be.

There was a woman in a white lab coat standing next the machine staring at a large tablet in her hand. The look on her face was somewhere between excitement and exhilaration. She looked pleased.

The guard coughed loudly and pushed Naruto forward, "Here he is Doc."

The woman's gaze snapped away from her tablet so fast the Naruto jumped a lit. She had yellow irises, a trait that he had never seen before. She also had strange hair, blonde like his own but styled so that two long locks on either side of her head flowed down and braided in front of her chest.

A bright smile spread on her face and the teen thought to himself. _'She looks like a viper...'_

"Mr. Uzumaki?" The woman asked animatedly.

He nodded reluctantly, "Yes..."

She stepped forward and took him by the chin, turning his head from side to side, examining him carefully before stepping back and writing something on her tablet, "Mine is Medusa Gorgon. But most people just call my Doc. Or Dr. Medusa."

Naruto craned his neck and tried to see what she had been writing, but the serpentine lady tucked the pad close to her chest. He huffed out a breath and looked around with a raised eyebrow, "So. What am I doing here. Shouldn't I be in a cell right now?"

Medusa just shook her head and beckoned him over to the machine, "Naruto, is it? Naruto. This is not a normal prison." She began to tap onto one of the many control panels, bringing the board to life. "You know what we do here. Its been going on since before you were born. Its a business as much as a solution to the problem of undesirable persons."

He nodded in affirmation as Mr. Guard unlocked his cuffs and shackles.

The lid to the machine opened and he swallowed noisily. He was not a fan of needles. And there were quite a lot of them in there. Big ones.

"Well, people can already watch regular fights. Boxing. Wrestling. Mixed Martial Arts." Medusa continued and the mechanical sound of something powering up continued, "We need something new. And that something came with the discovery of our species' true potential. Hidden deep within our base genetic code. We were once so much more, Naruto. Capable of so much more. But we've brought it back."

Naruto looked up from the machine, interest now despite himself, "Brought what back?" He had never heard of this. Not even a whisper. He just thought the things that happened on those events were staged. TV magic and all that jazz.

She grinned, almost maniacally, "It's hard to explain. Its an energy. But it's so much more than that. What we know is what we've found out during the program's history and ancient texts." The woman nodded at the guard and he began to strip the boy down to his underwear and made him lay down on the padded bottom of the machine.

His heart started to race again. He was barely keeping up with what she was saying. Energy? Ancient texts? Lost in genetic code? His blue eyes widened as his limbs were strapped down tightly.

Staring up at the ceiling lights, the teen started to hyperventilate. He was scared. What else was he supposed to do. Then he saw the doctor smiling down at him.

"What are you going to do to me?"

She reached down and ruffled his hair, "I'm going to give you a purpose."

"Is it going to hurt?"

The lid of the machine began to close, and Doc pulled back her hands, still smiling her wicked little smile. Just before the lid closed, sealing him in, she murmured, "Yes..."

Through a small pane of plexiglass in the side of his prison, Naruto watched as Doc sat down on a rolling desk chair and picked up her tablet. She began to type something out on it, frantically. Her eyes were excited, her lips moist. She looked up at him, and watched.

Naruto coiled. She was tense. Waiting for something...

A jab of something white hot into his body made him flinch away, into another white hot jab that made him shriek with pain. The cycle of jab and flinch, jab and flinch repeated itself until the teen was crying in pain, filled with needles as long as his forearm, as thick as a kilt pin. He felt tears slip off his cheeks, and his hands searched for something, anything, to grip onto. He wanted to hold something. Squeeze something. A bear. A bunny. One of those small toys he saw young children running around with.

Then, the needles began to pump battery acid into his system. Burning at his muscles, the needles turned into tiny screws, winding deeper and deeper, through bone and ligament, securing themselves into his flesh. Doc was watching, her eyes narrowed, shivering. A smile decorated her lips. She probably couldn't hear him screaming through the machine whirs and clunks, through his tears, through the way his body began to ripple and warp.

Then he felt it. It started small, winding and coiling under his naval. It did nothing to stop the pain, and he continued to scream but the feeling kept getting stronger. It kept coiling. And coiling. And coiling. The ticking on the bomb getting loud in the back of his mind.

When it exploded, he screamed. His vision bled orange and he heard the short circuiting of electronic, alarms blaring warnings of overloads. However, for a brief second, he knew what she was talking about. The energy. It was there. Coursing through his body in a in a fiery maelstrom. He felt...alive.

But it could only last so long. His brain could only process so much. The orange fade to black and he slipped away into blissful nothingness.

* * *

"Easy does it, Naruto..." The hands on his back were cool, unhooking him from the machine. It was Doc. But she sounded very concerned for him now, gentle and scared. "Take it easy..."

His head was spinning, and his eyes were foggy. He could hear the smile in Doc's voice. "M-my head..."

"Yeah, I know..." Her hands were gentle, rubbing his back. "You need to rest now..."

"R-rest?"

She made a small affirmative noise. "Let's go back to your cell, Naruto..."

He stumbled with her down a corridor of cells, hidden behind steel doors. Things were being rattled behind them. He knew enough that he wasn't going back to the padded room. This one had a bed, a small desk, a partition which concealed a bathroom behind it. Doc lowered him to the bed, and tucked him in. His face looked wrong in the semi-reflective door. Something was on his face. She left, closing the door behind her.

In the moment before the lights flickered out, in the moment before he toppled back into sleep, he saw his face warped, but reflected in the steel door. He frowned as his eyes closed.

The teen had whiskers...


	2. Chapter 2

**Here's the second chappie. Its kind of hard to start these stories. But I see good things from this as we continue. Though it is kind of hard to make certain characters commit crimes. Though I have the back story for most planned out. Sweet little Hinata...that one was almost difficult. but no spoilers...**

* * *

"Oi! Kid! Get up if you want to eat!"

Naruto started awake, gazing blearily around himself in panicked confusion. He had passed out after the startling discovery he had made the night before. To be honest, it was just the straw that broke the camel's back. The guard's shout had brought him out of the stress induced coma. The teen stared at the uniformed man from his bunk for a few moments, eyes squinting.

"What are you looking at, kid? Get up!"

The blond jumped again, swung his feet out from under the covers, and stood up abruptly. The only problem was how fast it happened. He damn near got whiplash and his guard laughed as he stumbled from the sudden vertigo.

Pulling a card from his helmet, the guard swiped it and the metal bars of the blond's cells slid open noisily, "Take it easy, kid. Your body is different now if you haven't noticed. Put some clothes on, I have a schedule to keep." Leaning against the threshold, he waited.

Naruto ignored the guard's emphasis on hurrying up and proceeded to see how 'different' his body was. The first thing to stand out was his stomach. He didn't remember being able to see so many distinct lines on his belly before. Curious, he rapped on them with his knuckles and found them to be stiff as wood. A grin pulled at his lips, '_Where were you during gym class?' _To his small surprise, the rest of the muscles on his body were the same; a little bit bigger and s lot more developed.

Turning, he saw the familiar orange jumpsuit and pulled it on. He only zipped it up halfway, opting to pull on the black tank top that was also provided. It was a snug fit, but a comfortable one. He finished zipping up the jumpsuit, stopping just below his collarbone. He bent down and laced on the black boots that had been issued to him when he was first arrested.

"Finally done, Beauty Queen?"

Naruto frowned at the nickname and shook his head, "Not yet..." His right hand inched upward towards his face as he entered the bathroom, The mirror proved correct what had startled him the night before. Though, they were more like scars than whiskers. They were little grooves in the skin of his cheeks, three on each side. They were easily visible, seeming darkened somehow. As his fingers approached the right set of the strange markings, the teen got the strangest sensation and his mouth twitched involuntarily. When he touched them outright Naruto yanked his hand away and and groaned, "Ugh, they're sensitive..."

The guard rolled his eyes, and jerked his thumb over his shoulder. "By the time you're done touching yourself, the cafeteria will be empty and anything left will be cold." Checking his clipboard, the guard shrugged. "More dumplings for everybody else I guess."

That had Naruto hauling ass, scampering out of his cell and following a trail of inmates down the corridors, guard posted at every door, rifle totted in their hands, more than one of them making him nervous. They had itchy trigger fingers.

They hallway opened up into a large cafeteria, the tiled floors grey, the walls a shade of grey. The food they served was brown and lumpy, Naruto eyeing it with the expectation that it would begin moving. Finding an empty table was easy, in the far corner, next to the barred windows. He poked at his food, head tilted to one side. _'Do they actually expect me to eat this?' _Looking around, he groaned. Someone at the next table over had a steak. He would kill for steak right now. But instead, he had a platter of this mysterious brown goop. He stabbed at it with his fork again, hoping it would turn into something else.

Naruto looked around, feeling hundreds of pairs of eyes on him. All sorts of colours and all sorts of sizes, some shaded by colour, some not. Not all of them were friendly. Naruto gulped, and hung his head, returning to his gloop. With shaking hands, he stabbed at it, tines of his fork bending. He tossed it aside.

The stares, and Naruto's jitters, subsided eventually. He assumed it was because he failed to do something worth staring at. This was exactly what he didn't want to happen. He was supposed to stay unremarkable. Though, thinking more clearly now, that could not have lasted forever. He would have to fight eventually. And he would have to win that fight and all those that followed if he wanted to stay alive. At least that what it seemed like to him. He watched out of his peripherals as people began to leave, stacking trays and plates, turning in silverware.

"So, you're the new guy, huh?"

Naruto looked up to be greeted with a boy who seemed to be around his age. He had wild brown hair, sharp black eyes, and a strange red fang mark on both cheeks. The sleeves of the teen's jumpsuit seem to have been torn shorter as well. Naruto's eyes narrowed ever so slightly as he tried and failed to judge the boy's intentions, "I guess so. Didn't see anyone come in with me."

A feral grin came to the boy's face, "You made a lot of noise. Two lockdowns in one day. Not even mentioning..." A visible shiver took his body and Naruto let an eyebrow rise in confusion. "Name's Kiba. Yours?"

"Naruto."

"Like the ramen topping."

A growl rumbled out of the blond's chest, a sound so animalistic that it would have startled him into silence if he hadn't been so suddenly irritated, "No. Not like the ramen topping. As in maelstrom." The amount of times he'd heard that one...

The newly name Kiba raised his hands, "My bad. Anyway. Since you're new, I'm guessing you don't know the schedule."

"That would be a good guess."

"Get up then. Breakfast is from seven to eight. We're done here. We've got yard time."

"Yard time?" Naruto asked as he stood and followed Kiba to the tray turn in. He happily scraped the horrid substance out of his sight and turned in the plastic platter. Hopefully he only got that stuff because he was late to the cafeteria.

Kiba led him from there, continuing to talk as they exited out of the east side of the room, "Yeah. Its like recess. Except in prison. Most people use it to train." The teen seemed to know his way around quite well as Naruto noticed that he wasn't checking signs.

"What? Like working out?"

"Yeah. Some guys do that. But I mean sparring, really. Target practice." Having folded his arms behind his head, Kiba eyed Naruto out of the corner of his eyes, "Some of us get special yard time. But those are ones who've won fights. And they don't throw many fights at us little guys."

Naruto shrugged gently at that and sped up, "That makes sense. No one really wants to see kids kill each other. Even kids like us." This was just as much a business as it was a public service. It made the blond's skin crawl.

"I guess. But it's not like everyone always dies. The fight stops when someone's been defeated. That can mean they die, sure, but really it just means not being able to fight anymore."

"So, you _want_ to fight?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow.

Kiba's head shook and he let his arms drop so he could shrug. They were approaching an exit, "Don't get me wrong. I'm not eager to stick my neck out. But, I'm in here for a reason. So are you. Might as well get to doing what they put us here for." He reached out for the door and pushed it open.

The sunlight was an unpleasant surprise for Naruto's cerulean eyes and he blinked the discomfort away as best he could, "You're right, I guess. Definitely in here for a reason."

"And what would that be? If you don't mind me asking."

Naruto clammed up for a moment, covering it up with a look of interest as he gazed around the 'Yard'. It looked more like a park, some areas more populated than others. Patrols of guards roamed hither and thither, covering the massive space. There was even part of the forest inclosed within the space. However, the shock of how extensive it was soon passed and he returned to Kiba's inquiry. He might as well be honest.

"I...uh...killed two guys."

"Really? Why?"

Naruto's demeanor changed, eyes narrowing and his face dropping into a frown, "They had made school hell all year. But I actually needed to stay there. Didn't want to get expelled again. But a week and a half ago, they jumped me again and I fought back. One of them pulled a knife." A shiver slid down his spine as memories of the experience came back to him in flashes. He hadn't realized he could get so..._angry_...

"It was fine for them to push me around and steal my money," Naruto continued as they made their way across the grounds, "But as soon as I saw the knife I thought to myself, 'My life is the only thing I have that I'm not willing to lose and no one, especially these scumbags, is going to take it from me.' The rest is history I suppose. The two of them had rich families. I had no chance in court, especially since it was their blood all over the knife. Not mine."

Kiba nodded appreciatively, stopping to sit down on top of a hill, "Hardcore. Me and my sis killed our dad." He patted the space beside himself.

Taking the invitation readily, the blond plopped down, looking surprised, "You had a good reason?"

"He was an asshole," The wild looking boy said as he barked out a laugh, "An alcoholic asshole. We could take his normal shit. Hated him for it, but we could take it. Then he tried to rape Hana. I walked in on it." he wasn't laughing now, actually seeming quite serious. He continued, "I don't really know why I had a knife. But I was walking back to my room when I heard a muffled scream. Got good ears, you know? Busted in and saw that bastard on top of her. He hit her and I snapped. Buried that knife between his shoulder blades."

A chuckle broke his trance and ran his right hand through his shaggy hair, "When he turned on me, Hana grabbed the knife and stabbed him...ten more times I think..."

Naruto took that with a grain of salt. He couldn't judge by what he would have done in that situation. It's not like he had a sister. Or a dad for that matter. A question pulled at his lips, though, "So, how'd you two end up here? Mom turn you in?"

"Hell no!" Kiba said loudly, eyes burning for a moment before he relaxed, "We turned ourselves in because we knew she'd try to take the blame. We didn't want her to have to come back here."

That made Naruto's ears prick up, "Your mom was in here?" That was surprising to say the least. The thought that people who ever winded up here ever got out again had never really crossed his mind.

Kiba smirked at the blond's surprised face, "Yeah. She never told us what she did to get in though."

"And how did she react when she realized what you did?"

"That was scary," Kiba admitted quietly, "She got really quiet. Which was weird 'cause our family's usually loud. And when Hana told her what he tried to do, there was this look in her eye that made me think she would have killed him even if we hadn't."

Naruto could imagine. He'd heard stories of motherly love and how women have been known to lift cars off their babies and stuff like that. There was a good chance that the lady might have torn the man to pieces. He would have. If it was his kid at least. They were quiet for a minute or so before Naruto asked, "Anyone else I should know about?"

Kiba licked his lips and his eyes darted around the courtyard. "Don't stare at her too long, but the girl with the pink hair. Green eyes. We aren't really sure what happened to her, but she's fucking psycho..."

Naruto looked past Kiba, and let his gaze flit over the girl who sat alone in a corner, her hair bedraggled. "Who else?"

"Dark hair. Right now gently knocking his head against a wall. He's set for a fight in a few days." Kiba flinched when the teen's head began to leave bloody streaks on the wall.

Naruto muttered, "I thought I was in jail, not on the mental ward..."

Kiba laughed quietly, but the teen bristled upon the sound of a shriek, then he turned away. "Cat fight. Don't get involved..."

"Wasn't planning on it." The blond replied. His head turned on a swivel and he chuckled briefly, "Anymore people our age in here? Preferably with most of their screws still tight."

Kiba smirked gently and nodded, "Eight, I think. But I'm not entirely sure...who they all are off the top of my head. Tend to keep to myself and Hana."

"Point em' out. I'd rather know now than find out later."

"Fair enough." He said with a nod before his head started to turn around, too. He made a sound of recognition and pointed down at the area closer to the main complex where a baseball game was being played, "Alright. You see those three down there by the trees? Two guys and a blonde chick?"

Naruto squinted a bit before nodding, finally picking out the targets, "Got 'em."

"Alright. The big, heavier, guy is Chouji Akamichi. The black haired one laying down is Shikimaru Nara. Those are famous names."

"Why?"

"Well, the Akamichi is basically a crime family. They own a lot of restaurants all over the Nation, but that's just side business." Kiba said in a hushed tone of voice, "I don't know the details, but Chouji is here as collateral. That's what Hana said anyway. I think his family is in trouble with the government."

Naruto frowned, rubbing his chin, "That's kinda shady. Kidnapping kids to make people pay up."

"Huh?"

"That's what collateral is, Kiba. If you borrow money, the loaner gets to keep something of yours until you pay back the money. So, the Akamichi must've borrowed from the city."

Kiba's face transformed into an expression on realization, "Ooooh. Yeah, that is pretty shady..."

"So what about the other two?"

"Well, the Naras own just about every pharmacy in Fire Country. Kinda a dynasty really." He started before motioning back towards the three of them, "Don't know what he did to get here though."

"And the girl?"

"Ino Yamanaka. Raging Kleptomaniac with anger issues. Comes from a rich family but has an obsession with stealing." He said it with a disbelieving shake of his head, "Her last venture went wrong somehow, I guess. She's in for murder."

Naruto raised an eyebrow as he looked at the girl, "She seems to be giving them a hard time." Anger issues sounded about right...

"The only other person I know of is a Hyuga. But she's not outside today."

Naruto shrugged at that and closed his eyes before laying back, "That's okay...I've got a long time to meet everyone."

"Ain't that the truth?"

The newer of the two convicts let himself relax into the grass as he reviewed everything he had learned so far. One, his life had been changed by Doc Medusa. Two, no one had yet to fully elaborate on these 'GMs'. Three, his was _not _the only young killer in this place. Four, he was _not _sure whether he was comforted or disturbed by that notion. Five...

Someone was standing over him, blocking the sun's rays from his face.

"Who's this, Kiba?"

His blue eyes blinked open and he raised a hand above them to shield against the light streaming around the figure above him. His vision cleared enough for him to make out two large, deep brown eyes staring back at him. Then two magenta fang marks on full cheeks, long brown hair pulled into a ponytail with two long bangs framing her face. Yes, it was most definitely a 'her'. She grinned down at him with her arms crossed under an ample chest, the top of her jumpsuit removed and tied around her waist.

She bent down further when the two boys both remained silent, for two entirely different reasons. Her finger pressed into Naruto's forehead, "What's the matter? Like what you see?"

Thoroughly stunned, the fourteen year old just nodded with a lopsided grin and he breathed out, "Yeah..." This was followed by an indignant 'Dude!' from his fellow male. Naruto knew the bro code had strict rules but...she was hot.

And 'she' had to be Hana, Kiba's sister. The strange marks on their cheeks were telling, though it suddenly occurred to him that he had no room to talk anymore. Hana just smirked in response to his agreement, "Has courage _and _good taste. Where'd you find this one, Kiba?"

The feral boy sat up and grumbled, "His name is Naruto. I found him in the mess hall and he's my age."

"Dear brother, what does age have to do with anything?"

Naruto followed Kiba's example, sitting up first before standing. He looked over at Hana, ready to introduce himself before he froze. She had leaned in uncomfortably close, her nose nearly pressed against his neck. The tell-tale sound of sniffing reached his ears. He let her do her thing, faintly remembering lessons about meeting dogs for the first time.

When she finally pulled away, he let out a breath he had not realized was being held. She had a peculiar look on her face, eyes narrowed slightly and her mouth slightly quirked at the corners. It was a look of...interest.

"So. You're the one." She said matter-of-factly, turning to her brother for confirmation which he gave in the form of a smirk and a nod.

Naruto took a step back, not really threatened but apprehensive, "If by 'the one' you mean 'the new guy', then yeah. That's me." His back straightened and his posture relaxed. He really had to stop being so paranoid.

She shook her head and poked him again, this time in the chest, "I meant the one who put us on full lockdown last night. The one who let out a burst of chakra so thick I almost fucking suffocated." She shuddered visibly and that somehow put a boost on the blond's ego.

"Chakra? You mean that orange stuff?"

They both blinked at him and Kiba said quietly, "Orange?"

They sounded unsure and that made him unsure, "At least I think it was orange. There was blue, too, but mostly orange. I don't remember it so well..."

The two siblings looked at each other skeptically before Hana shook her head and laughed, "Nevermind, we'll figure it out newbie. We'll fill you in on the essentials you'll need to keep breathing in this place. Let's get out of the sun." She started trekking down the hill back towards the main complex the two boys following after a moment.

* * *

Her eyes dropped to her plate. Peas and mashed potatoes and a chicken breast with the skin still on. It would be crunchy if she was going to eat it. Pleasantly crunchy, the way her mother would have made it...

The green-eyed girl pushed the plate away and put her head in her hands, staring at the wood grain that ran through the table in the darker streaks that ran through the surface. She smiled, a wide grin spreading her face, unexplained and unwarranted, just appearing. She began to play with a strand of pink hair, braiding it, curling it in her fingers, tying it in complex knots until it matted to her skull. She started to giggle, madly.

Naruto looked up from his own dinner and watched her, head tilted to one side in confusion. Around a mouthful of chicken that was so pink it kinda freaked Naruto out, Kiba grunted, "...phukin' syco..."

The pinkette suddenly shifted from giggling to sobbing, and ran out of the room, leaving Naruto with his new-found friends eating. Kiba was gnawing frantically on a drumstick, Hana picking the remnants of a carcass apart, pawing at it gently, eating the meat of even the finest of bones.

Naruto cast his eyes around again, and found the dark-haired teen now staring at the ceiling, not moving except for a gentle sway back and forth, eyebrows narrowed.

"Don't stare for too long, Naruto," Hana advised, stealing a piece of chicken fat off his plate, "They know when you're looking."

He already knew that, having been on the receiving end of enough glares and stares to know when one was being cast his way. They mostly likely had the same unfortunate sixth sense. Though it may come in handy considering their environment. Hana and Kiba had filled him in on what the doctor had not. The enhancements to his muscle and skeletal structure had made themselves obvious when Kiba challenged him to a race to 'get his toes wet'. Naruto had never remembered being able to run so fast in his life. The soccer team at school would definitely have picked him up now.

However, that wasn't the only thing. Hana had explained the concept of this 'chakra' to him in detail that surprised him. She was a bit of a bookworm. Apparently, it was a naturally occurring form of energy or matter. A mix of mental and physical energies as she had put it. According to her understanding, humans had always had the potential to harness and use chakra. In fact it seemed it was a major part of the world up until about five thousand years ago or so. Thats how far back they had managed to trace it anyway through genetics. For some reason though, its use had disappeared completely. Either by force or agreement, humans had stopped using chakra. The old ways died off until no one even knew chakra existed, let alone how to activate it.

What Hana did not know was how it reappeared or who discovered it. But she believed that this whole prison charade was a façade. An act to cover up the experiments they were doing with the chakra.

It was believable enough to Naruto. The government had always been known to do shady things sometimes. He heard about it on the news on the rare occasions he ever watched it. People talked about it on the streets. But if she was right, then this was one dirty secret that the government really kept under wraps. They didn't question the fights they paid to watch. They were just convicts. Scum of the earth. And he was sure that if someone did try to blow the whistle they were silenced shortly.

A sigh escaped between his lips and he pushed up from the table, smiling tiredly, "I think I'll find my guard and head to bed guys."

Kiba grinned and waved a hand, "Go on then, Blondie. Catch ya tomorrow."

Hana smirked her tiny smirk, "Sleep right. Keep your asshole tight." Kiba was sent into a round of uproarious laughter.

Naruto blanched for a split second before huffing, "Yeah, yeah. Real funny, sweet cheeks."

"Awww pet names already, Naru-kun?"

"Fuck you, Hana."

"Maybe later, Whiskers."

A growl of annoyance fled his throat and he walked away quickly, murmuring under his breath. He couldn't help how he looked dammit! Naruto emptied his tray and turned around to stack it under when he slammed into another body sending the person's tray and its contents scattering.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!"

Naruto flinched at the loud exclamation and immediately bent down to pick up the tray, gathering it on top of his own, "Sorry, man-" His apology was cut short by the rubber sole of a boot connecting with his lips, splitting both of them. He barely had time to shout in pain before he was hoisted up by his jumpsuit.

The man was tall and white haired, the locks hanging about his face and his green eyes were narrowed with anger, "You little fucktard! You think you're hot shit or something?!" The man pulled back a fist and drove it into Naruto's stomach, eliciting a grunt from the blond as red spittle issued forth from his mouth.

A shout rang out from the rapidly encircling crowd, "Yeah, Mizuki! Teach the newbie a lesson."

"Oh, I will!" The man dropped Naruto to the floor and dropped his boot into the boy's gut, causing him to retch violently. "Listen you little shit! You are nothing here. You are below the ground you're lying on. Better learn quick, shitstain!"

Naruto coughed and stood up shakily, blood dripping from his mouth. There was that name again.

_Shitstain!_

He turned to walk away, feet trudging against floor. '_Just walk away, Naruto. You can't win. Not worth it. Don't get mad...'_ But he was mad. He was fucking angry. What right did that asshole have to say anything? They were in the same place. Scum of the fucking earth.

"Smart shitstain. Walk away. Its a pity mommy can't protect you here," Mizuki laughed, throwing a full bottle of water that connected violently with the back of Naruto's head, "But they don't let whores in here!"

Most of the crowd let out a laugh or two, glad to see the newbie put in his place. That was until Naruto stopped in his tracks.

A sickening wave of killing intent washed over the inmates just as Hana and Kiba burst to the forefront of the crowd. Their eyes widened as their new friend slowly turned around to face Mizuki. Gone were the deep blue eyes he had boasted before, replaced by crimson orbs, pupils slitted. The whisker marks on his cheeks darkened and widened, making him look more animal than human.

He approached the white haired man with slow, dragging steps, arms swaying from side to side. As he continued to move the sound of a growl, long and steady, hushed the crowd. On the edges of the cafeteria, the guard were getting nervous, shouldering their rifles anxiously. They looked towards their captain who simply shook his head.

"Back for more, _Shitstain_? You don't like that name or something? Or was it me calling your slut mother a _whore_?" Mizuki was sporting a shit eating grin, unperturbed by this wannabe badass.

What he was not expecting was for the boy to lunge at him faster than he could blink.

The fight that ensued, if you could call it that, was over quickly and brutally.

Naruto swung a clawed at Mizuki's throat, hoping to tear it out. The limb whistled through the air at frightening speeds but was met with the man's own hand, wrapping around his wrist and stopping the blow cold.

Mizuki's face showed strain as his arm shook under the incredible strength the raging boy was utilizing. However, he managed a grin, "That the best you got, Shitstain? You'll need to do better than th-GURK!" The choking sound stopped the rest of whatever he was going to say as the crowd cried out in alarm.

Naruto's left hand had penetrated Mizuki's chest, his clawed fingers puncturing through bones and muscles like pike. A crazed grin spread on the teen's face as the man's green eyes nearly bulged from their sockets as they gazed down at his pierced sternum. He cough up globules of blood when Naruto removed his hand, the appendage stained red and covered bits of gore and lung tissue.

Mizuki's aorta let out thick streams of arterial spray as he dropped to his knees. A cry escaped him as claws dug into the back of his head, Naruto's hands on either side of his face, "W-what are you doing?! You crazy motherfucker! Help me!"

The crowd rushed forward to do just that before they were overwhelmed by another wave of nausea inducing intent to kill. Naruto's eyes oozed it. The urge to murder and maim. The wicked rage needed to commit such acts of violence.

He turned those eyes in Mizuki and grinned, the look seeming more like a snarl than one of joy. Mizuki's pupils dilated with fear as Naruto's thumbs raised above them, nails elongated and sharp.

"PLEASE!"

"Naruto, don't!"

Both screams went unheeded as Naruto squeezed down on Mizuki's head, thumbs forcing their way through eyeball and muscle. His hands turned red as his victim thrashed and screamed in pure, unadulterated agony.

"AUHHHHHHHH!"

Then they came to a sudden stop, as Naruto torqued Mizuki's head violently to the right. Vertebrae and tendons snapped, the sound echoing through the cafeteria as Naruto let the body slump the floor.

One word left his lips, "_**Shitstain...**_"

Naruto came too in his cell, the grey walls now padded in a colour that reminded him of clotted cream. his hands were bound down to the bed with thick leather straps, and a head of blonde hair was bouncing around him.

The young girl he had first met behind the counter was dabbing at his arms with something that made them burn. Lifting his head, he groaned, and then set it back down. "Wha-?"

"Apparently you need to be physically sound before you head over to Doc Medusa's tomorrow, and seeing as I'm the intern, I get to bandage you up." As she spoke, something nice and cool wrapped around his right bicep. Her hair bounced away again, the tips of her fingers glowing a soft shade of green.

"How-?"

"They aren't sure yet. Just lay still Naruto. I'll fix you." She was back, one fine-fingered hand cradling the back of his head, placing a plastic cup to his lips. "Drink." He did, the liquid cool and frothy, soothing his parched throat. With a groan, he flexed his wrists, trying to get free. The blonde hair was still swinging when he felt something sharp against his jugular and she hissed softly, "I'll let you go in a moment. Don't struggle."

"What happened? Where are Kiba and Hana?"

"They've been restricted to their cell while we do an investigation." Her curls tickled his chest when she put her head over his heart to listen. nodding to herself, she retreated, bouncing, to where he couldn't see her, and the medical tink of metal against glass was enough to make him nervous. "The last time they had a lock-in for an investigation was... while I was here."

"Who are you? Why aren't you telling me what happened?"

A small grin was his answer, and as she reached over him, he saw the scars from the GM injections that were scabbing on him. Her needles had been far larger. "My name is Tsukiko. And quite frankly, I'm not sure what happened. I'm a lowly intern who odd-jobs around here in order to get my sentence shortened."

His eyes squeezed shut as bit and pieces started to come back to him. The screaming and the blood first and foremost. The other bits were scattered and lost to the rage. The images bled red inside his mind. The guards had tried to intervene. To subdue him. They screamed about the sedatives. '_Why aren't the sedatives working?! Put him down!'_

Her tone was gentle, and her hands found his, strapped to the bed frame. "Stay here with me, Naruto. Or we're going to have to put you under again. It's not good for you. Stay here." Tsukiko rubbed the back of his hand with her thumb, her hand glowing green, her voice becoming strained. He could feel a warmth pulsing through him, gently rubbing at the sore places, healing the hurt ones. It felt good...

But he didn't want to feel good. He wanted to be able to move. He wanted to roll over. Most of all he wanted to know what the fuck was going on! The restraints groaned as he flexed, the stress and frustration bringing out the monster again.

"Let me up."

She began to unbuckle him, hissing something to the guard outside, his hands loose, then his feet, then the one around his waist. Tsukiko backed away, and sat with her head low, in the corner furthest away from the door. She was no threat to him.

The orange clad teen blurred into the bathroom, hands gripping harshly at the mirror as he stared at himself in the mirror. He breathed deeply, calming himself to stop his eyes from flickering. His eyes weren't supposed to be red. Why would they turn red? It was just another question yet to be answered as he rubbed at the orbs, sighing when they returned to normal. His hands turned on the tap and he splashed himself with the cold water, slapping it onto his neck.

The intern gathered her things and left quietly, the guard beyond locking the door from without. Naruto's lights were shut off. He was left in a suspended silence, the water still running, a chill running through his as the droplets on the back of his neck dried.

Fatigue draped over him like a cloak as he stood there in the darkness. There was a sinking feeling in his stomach as he stared down at his hands through the darkness. The water was shut off and he returned to his bed, curling up under the sheets as he shivered.

"What's happening here? What happening to me...?"


	3. Chapter 3

The morning came quickly for Naruto, much too quickly for his liking. The crack of thunder that rolled through the walls of his cell stimulated his eyelids into fluttering open. Blue eyes stared at the ceiling as he listened the rain falling in torrents against his window. He had always loved these kinds of storms. The moist air blew in from the sea and warmed up over Fire Country. You never knew how strong they might be or how long they would last.

They sure were nice to listen to though. The constant sound of the sheets of rain interspersed with rumbling thunder. It was relaxing enough to lull him back to sleep. Unfortunately, he did not have that luxury today. The guard he come to recognize came banging on the bars of his cell, "Alright, Kid. Get up. You're going to see the Doc."

The teen sat up silently, staring at the man outside his bars for a long moment before getting up with a small groan._'I was really hoping they had forgotten me. Sleep sounds so much better right now...' _Nevertheless, he pulled on a fresh jumpsuit. At least they had been nice enough to wash him after they knocked him out. He would have been covered in blood otherwise. The lingering straps on his bed and the padding on his walls reminded him what had happened the night before. At least, he should say, it remind him that something _had _happened. Maybe the doctor could tell him exactly what it was that happened.

The guard attached thick cuffs to his wrists and Naruto tilted his head, "What's your name?" It would be nice to be able to call him something other than 'that one guard who's always around'.

The man just scoffed and said briefly, "Names aren't important, Kid. But you can call me Grey. That's meaningful." He laughed but Naruto didn't really get the joke. At least had had some form of identification now at least. Grey was the only guard he had seen in the place who didn't wear a mask over the part of his face the helmet didn't cover.

The teen stayed quiet after that though, not much else coming to his mind to say. Nothing that he believed Grey would be able to answer, anyway. However, they soon arrived at a familiar set of doors and Naruto watch as Grey punched in a code and swiped his card. The doors unlocked and they were off again, slate changing to white. In the back of his mind, Naruto wondered just how many inmates had made this trip. Had any never come back? There couldn't be a hundred percent success rate could there?

He found himself inside Medusa's lab only about forty seconds later. Grey opened the doors and pushed him inside. She was sitting at her desk, yellow eyes trained on a monitor.

"Here he is, Doc."

A small grunt was her only response, yellow eyes darting back and forth over the monitor. With a sigh, she turned away from her monitor, and frowned at both Naruto and his companion. "The fights are about to start, Grey. Why bring him to me now?"

"You never specified a time, and I figured he was more important than some stupid fight." His mouth turned down into a look of annoyance, "I can bring him back later, your Highness."

"Well, he's here now. You might as well leave him here." She turned back to the monitor and growled, "This will be one to watch..."

Grey just sneered, "The Uchiha brat again? His fights are never ones to watch. Boring." His teeth showed in a grin and he slapped Naruto's shoulder, "Beasty here is a different story. That was entertaining..."

"Fuck you, Grey." Her yellow eyes were narrow. "This one...This will be the one..."

"It's not going to happen. He has to be scared. Faced with death. Unless you pit him against one of _them_, it's not going to happen. Besides. He's not his brother."

Doc shook her head, knuckles going white on the edge of the table. "Thank God..." Her eyes were still glued to the screen. "Are you just going to stand there, Grey or should I probe and prod you as well?"

"I'm not being paid to be an assistant, Doc. I'm a guard. I'll stick to guarding."

Naruto, the only one to not have participated in the conversation was thoroughly confused. Did Grey refer to him as 'Beasty'? Uchiha? He'd heard something Uchiha a long time ago...

Doc shuddered, "That is one of the prisoners they should have NEVER given any amount of freedom to. He had chakra before we gave him more. Before..." She switched off her monitor and grumbled. "Get on the bed, Naruto. Check-up time."

He walked over to the bed and hopped up, hands still cuffed together, "Why was everything on, lockdown?" He had seen all the people in their cells eating instead of in the cafeteria.

Grey smirked from the door, his helmet visor flashing menacingly, "Oh. You don't remember? It was good, Beasty. Mizuki never saw it coming..."

"You lost control and as such, everything got out of control." Doc smacked his arm, stethoscope in her ears. "Breathe when I tell you to."

Naruto obliged, taking deep breaths as she pressed the stethoscope against his chest and back. His face was concerned and eyes were frustrated, "I lost control of what, exactly?"

"The Kitsune. The manifestation of your chakra. It's all very confusing." The smack this time was harder, leaving a red mark on his shoulder, "Breathe."

"A fox? What are you even talking about." He wasn't breathing or cooperating, instead choosing to stare at her intensely. She wasn't telling him the truth. Not the complete truth, anyway.

"Breathe..." She warned, her eyes staring right back into his. "Grey has the potential to be extremely nasty, Naruto. Co-operate."

There was a very sharp, metallic clicking sound as the aforementioned guard cocked his rifle, "So does he, Doc. If you haven't seen the footage yet. You should." His voice sounded serious now, and he moved closer, "The sedatives didn't work. Bullets didn't stop him for long. He kept healing. I think the only reason those guys didn't die was because he got bored. Don't antagonize him. Answer the questions. If anyone deserves to know, its him."

"I've never seen this before, only heard about it. We can awaken chakra ability, but sometimes...sometimes there is this separate entity, with it's own chakra. We don't know how it gets there, we don't know why it's there, but it is. And you, Naruto, you will need t learn to deal with this fox. Your trigger seems to be anger - so don't get angry. Unless you want to turn into that." She pointed to a wall, where a projector had a picture of him frozen to the white paint. His eyes were blood-red, teeth sharp and elongated, whiskers thick, like someone had drawn them angrily on his face with a permanent marker.

Grey put in his two cents, "You killed a man yesterday, Kid. Injured six others severely. We don't know if Ebisu will walk again." He tapped onto his tablet and the picture expanded into a video, showing inmates scattering away from the center of the cafeteria, some of them screaming. Guards dropped into frame, firing upon him. Though, he was a blur across the screen, down on all fours like a beast. Grey paused it again, finding a close up of him and a female guard, his hand clawing through her flak jacket like butter, a crazy snarl on his face.

Naruto stared at that for a long time before he shuddered violently, the memories finally sinking together in a logical order. The red haze finally making some iota of sense.

"How can I control it? I don't even know how to fight or do anything..."

Doc Medusa sighed through her nose, scribbling something onto a clipboard, "We'll figure that out soon, Naruto. We won't leave you in the dark. We're going to try to get someone to train you, but we cannot guarantee anything. For now, we are going to leave you in solitary for the majority of the time. But since you have proved stable in the last 24 hours, we're going to move you out of the padded room. Alright?" Her scribbling hadn't stopped for her entire speech.

Before he could answer, Grey snorted, "Yeah, because more time in solitary is going to make him calm down. Remember who else we kept confined to solitary? That turned out well..." He chuckled to himself and before looking at the blond haired brat, "Your friends have asked about you a lot. Apparently you _didn't_ scare them away. Psychos..."

"Grey." Medusa snarled, "Not too long ago you were called in here for killing a man. Leave the boy alone."

"Well, he deserved it. Mizuki was an idiot. Not exactly a crime worthy of the punishment he got. I like the kid, but we have enough animals in this place. We don't need one that can't be put on a leash. Might as well put him down..."

Medusa shook her head. "Grey, if you can't say something nice...shut the fuck up and stand outside..."

"Yessir..." With that, the guard left the room.

Naruto seemed to have been affected by his words, however, "He's right. That was me in the video. It may not have been this 'me' but it wasn't an animal. I've been like that before. It's the reason I'm even in here." Angry Naruto was a scary Naruto. Even to himself. Those bottled emotions came out violently like some sort of super volcano. It was a destructive force. And now he was on worst kind of steroids.

"What can I do to help you, Naruto?"

"Don't leave me alone. That gives me too much time to think."

"My doors are always open."

"No offense. But I'd rather talk to someone who doesn't treat people like experiments."

"None taken. Your free to go if you wish." Her eyes trailed back to the monitor, voice raising. "GREY!"

The guard sauntered back inside the lab, crooked smile on his face, "Yes?"

"Naruto is going to one of the third floor cells. The one beneath the stairs would do alright. Set him up for me. Understand?"

"That's the general population cellblock, Doc..."

"Do it." Her hand squeezed on Naruto's leg. "If he misbehaves then we send him back to high security. As he is currently, he doesn't pose a threat to anyone. Give him the better food, the better beds."

The guard just shook his head and gather the teen up. She didn't miss the small yelp the blond gave when Grey tightened the cuffs, "As you say..."

"Grey?" When the guard spun, he dragged Naruto with him, the teen having to scramble and scuffle on the floor in order to keep up. Doctor Medusa walked up and loosened the cuffs by a few precious, millimeters. "Go easy on him. You were in his spot not two years ago."

The guard didn't respond as he walked out the door. He got the message.

Doc smiled and shuffled a few papers, before turning back to her screen, steepling her fingers as she sat down. With her eyebrows furrowed, she began to mumble under her breath, watching the hours of commercials roll before the fight began.

* * *

Grey lead Naruto up several flights of stairs before taking him to his new cell. As the pair of them rounded the corner, Naruto blinked in surprise; instead of steel doors, barred and locked from the outside, these cells were kept private by a pane of glass, several of them clouded from the inside.

"Chemical reaction." Grey grunted, swiping his access card through a pad on the wall next to a cell, the glass door clouded.

Naruto stepped into the space, and blinked in surprise. Painted a soft beige, the room seemed to be about the size of a small apartment, complete with a mini-fridge and a television. A writing desk sat in one corner, a bed tucked in beneath a sloping ceiling. "It's so big..."

"Doc likes ya." The guard had come in behind him, and grunting, relieved Naruto of his shackles. "She liked me too. Put in a good word at the Office. I got to come up here." When the guard grinned, Naruto noticed how crooked his nose was. It must have been the fights. Grey pointed to the TV. "Gets three channels. The news. The fights. The weather. Your schedule is in the desk drawer."

With that the guard left, shutting the door behind him. The glass remained clouded. A small hiss lent the room a fresh burst of oxygen, there being no windows. He looked around the room and inhaled deeply before walking over to the schedule. Schedule for what?

His days, Monday to Saturday, were planned out for him on a rigorous and rigid time frame. Right now, on a Friday, from one in the afternoon until five they had free time. His eyebrows knitted together when in small font below that, he saw in brackets the word training. From five to six was dinner, six to nine yard time and the showers opened at nine thirty, curfew at eleven.

It occurred to Naruto that Grey hadn't locked him in, but just closed the door. Getting up from his desk, Naruto wandered over to the door and turned the handle. He smiled as it swung open. He stepped into the hallway and looked around. It was interesting how the compound was built in a circle. It was almost maze-like. His room was at the end of a curved hallway and, as Doc has said, built into a staircase. Under it at least.

He started walking, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jumpsuit. It seemed most people had their doors closed. _'Probably training. I wonder who'll be training me? Will I have to do stuff on my own?' _He would have to learn more about what she said about the fox, too. It sounded dangerous. It was dangerous. He was dangerous because of it. That did not sit well with him. Perhaps it could be a gift just as well as a curse, though, considering his currently forced profession.

He wandered past a small opening on the wall when a small gasp entered his ears, and he rounded to face a young woman, tucked into an alcove on her own. Her fingers were glowing blue, but that rapidly faded as she shielded her eyes from his behind a curtain of dark hair. She pressed herself to the back wall, and whispered, "D-Do you want the alcove? I-I can l-leave..." Naruto's improved vision caught the trembles that racked her body and he could very nearly smell the trepidation coming off her in waves. "I-It's no trouble..."

She was quite a bit shorter than himself, maybe a full head. _'Prettier, too...' _He thought with an inner sigh. Outwardly, he smiled kindly and put a hand behind his head to scratch, "No, its fine. I was just...exploring. new here..."

One soft lilac eye looked up at him, and she stopped shaking so hard. "What are y-you in for?"

He didn't respond right away, or rather, he couldn't; having been rendered speechless by her eyes. They were beautiful in the strangest way. She had no pupil, but the majority of her eye was a soft lavender, the whites only at the corners. They were blank as a sheet of paper, but held many words. It was...enlightening.

"If you don't want to tell, then that's okay too..." She tucked her hair back behind her ears, looking up at him with an air of timidness. Without talking, she reached up, and skimmed her fingers over the whiskers on his cheeks, several times, back and forth. "They aren't drawn on...?"

Again, Naruto was unable to speak. His eyes lids drooped as her fingers rolled over his markings and a soft rumbling sound came from his chest and the back of his throat. He was purring... Her soft eyes watched as his own rolled back into his head. Unsure, she continued the gentle stroking, ready to snatch her hands away at the slightest flinch, the second his eyes opened. A gentle smile crept across her face when she made a move to pull away, and he leaned into her fingers.

Then he jerked back to land of the living, looking dazed and confused, "What the..." He turned to look at her and then to her hand and blushed furiously.

She froze, her face flushing bright red, eyes disappearing behind a fringe of hair. "I'm sorry..." She bent over, curling up tightly, shoulders stooped and head hanging, "S-Sorry..."

A nervous chuckle escaped him and he shook his head, lifting her chin up, "No its alright. I didn't know that happened..." His cheeks were red but he managed to compose himself, "But if you want to talk..."

"I think you're the only other one up here..." She tried to look anywhere but him, trembling once more. "W-we could... I-if you wanted..."

"Sure." He said happily, deciding that the day had just gotten one hundred percent better. Cheekily, he added, "Your place or mine?" Naruto felt her jaw lock beneath his fingers and suddenly, her body went limp, rag-doll-like, and she collapsed, face first into his chest in a dead faint.

His arms quickly caught her slight frame, one slipping under her legs as he picked her up to stop her from sliding to the floor. He glanced around quickly and rolled his eyes, "Great. And no one around to testify that I didn't do it. Well, I guess I did do it. Sort of." First Tsukimi and now her. He had to be in prison to get noticed? _'How terribly ironic. I suppose she can sleep on my bed until she wakes up...' _Naruto carried her back down the hallway and through the clouded glass door. He laid her gently on the bed and made his way over to the mini-fridge, "Maybe there's some water in here..."

His eyes bulged happily to find the fridge fully stocked with anything he might ever want. Bottled water, fizzy sodas, fruit and vegetables... In the back he found a bar of dark chocolate. He would save that for later... Naruto grabbed a bottle of water and wandered over to where the girl was laying, looking rather peaceful, on his new bed. He set it down on the table next to her figuring she might want it after she woke up. He retreated to the desk at the other end of the room and let his head rest on his arms. She had gone and made him tired.

Just as he began to drift away, she sat up, gingerly clutching to her right temple. Seeing the water beside her, she took it and unscrewed the cap, downing it with small, greedy sips. Her eyes were a little bit cloudy. "Oooohhh..." She groaned, swinging her legs over the edge of the bed. "My head..."

Naruto lifted his head from the desk and turned around looking concerned, "Did you hit it or something? I don't remember you hitting it..." He hoped she was okay. He had to stay on good behavior.

She shook her head, then immediately began to look incredibly sick. "It just happens... Sometimes..." Groggily, she opened her eyes, trying not to move her head too much, not wanting to vomit at all. "What time is it? Are the fights over?"

"I don't know," he said with a shrug, getting out if his chair and moving over to her, "I didn't plan on watching them. More worried about you, really." Maybe it had something to do with her eyes. That was a high possibility.

"Y-You don't need to worry about me. I l-learned to take care of myself." Her eyes were cast down, leaving Naruto leaning in, wanting to search their lilac depths again. She smiled gently when he caught a glimpse, and then hid her face in her arms. "You should watch the fights... they're supposed to be pretty good this time..."

His back straightened again and he rolled his eyes slightly, "I was never really that interested in them. I have bigger things to worry about, sadly..." _'Much bigger things...' _He thought to himself.

"You're the new Jinchuriki that caused the lockdown - aren't you?" the girl moved away from him, just slightly. Just enough to show how afraid she was. "We weren't allowed to shower yesterday..."

"Jinchuriki...?" He said the word slowly, testing it out. It tasted dirty in his mouth. 'The Power of Human Sacrifice'. Thats what the word meant. It sounded bad enough as it was. The label held even more despicable connotations for himself.

"I'm sorry...But that's what they call you..." Her eyes and face, turning to look at him, were gentle. "You seem nice even. I sh-shouldn't be so afraid..."

"I didn't mean to hurt anyone. Not really..."

"Did they deserve it? What you did to them?"

"Yes...no...I don't know. I can't say if what I did was right or wrong. But I did it. Now I'm paying for it."

"Just like the rest of us." She got to her feet and wandered over. Her hand touched his shoulder. It was warm, and small, and comforting. "What's your name?"

He smiled and said confidently, "Naruto Uzumaki. And you?"

"Hinata Hyuga." Her eyes were now gently touching his. Everything she did was gentle. It was cute. "My room is across the hall. Maybe we can...be friends?"

Naruto nodded with a chuckle, "Friends is good." He needed more of those. She seemed like a decent person. She seemed...he couldn't put his finger on it.

"C-could I stay here for a little bit longer? Y-You're nice..."

"Well, I won't kick you out. This is the longest conversation with a girl I think I've ever had." He added quietly, his inner Casanova emerging, "At least not one so pretty."

She flushed a deep red again, tucking her hair behind her ear. "Th-Thank you."

Looking around he said gently, "What did you do? To end up here. You don't seem...like the rest of us." He held his hands up and added quickly, "No offense..." She looked like she was from a well-off family. One of those princesses you saw ruling the roost at school. Without all the snobbiness at least.

"...I destroyed my little sister..." She looked to the blank ceiling over her head, contemplating it. "She was bragging how father always told her she was better. More perfect. More ready to be an heir. I grew tired of her bragging." Her lavender eyes had darkened considerably, "So I silenced her."

His own blue eyes widened slightly at her choice of words, "Destroyed...?" That could mean a number of things. None of them good. He noticed how the line of her jaw tightened and his ears picked up the sound of grinding teeth. She was angry...or remembering being angry.

"Forgive me. I should go now..." The young woman stood up, and within a few steps had calmed herself down. She took a seat just outside Naruto's cell and buried her face in her knees, teeth still grinding together.

He found himself walking after her, crouching down beside her shoulder, "Sorry, Hinata...I didn't mean to make you...remember." He couldn't really understand how she felt, or what drove her to do what she did.

"It's no issue, Naruto..." But it clearly was an issue, as she sat very very still, grinding her teeth, her body as tight as a bowstring. "It's okay."

"Alright then...its almost time for dinner..."

"I'm not hungry..." she whispered, hanging her head. "I'll skip tonight. Thats fine..."

"Okay..." He got up and moved away, shutting his door before he shoved his hands into the pockets of his jumpsuit. _'Nice Naruto, pissed her off...' _

"N-Naruto?" She called through the door, and he could see the silhouette of one of her hands pressed up against the glass, quickly accompanied by her other. "It was nice to meet...Someone like me."

His voice responded back through the glass, "Yes. It was. But...I think there are more...people like us. A lot more..."

"They make them fight. And not everyone comes back..." Her hand wandered over to the doorknob, and she turned it swiftly, tripping the lock and rushing into his cell. Fearlessly, she wrapped her arms around him, shivering. "Promise me. You need to come back."

Naruto stood frozen for a moment before hesitantly returning the hug, "My life is really the only thing I have left, Hinata. I don't plan on losing it." He rubbed her back awkwardly, almost freaked out by the sudden contact, "I think we'll be okay."

She squeezed his shoulders tightly. "Y-Yeah..." The hug began to get awkward. Licking her lips gently, she backed up and hung her head. "You should head to dinner if you want to get the good stuff..."

A quick nod was his response and he escaped the situation with a large smile and a wave as he disappeared down the hallway, leaving her inside his room. _'Not like she can steal anything.' _From there the blonde went back to following the directional signs towards the cafeteria.

* * *

Entering the cafeteria was another eye opening experience for Naruto. He was still riding the high from meeting another friend and kindred spirit when he stepped into the room. The utter silence that fell over the air and the feeling of hundreds of eyes fixating on himself. It made him nosedive straight back into reality. The thud of his boots hitting the tile echoed loudly in his ears as he crossed the over to the serving line, took up a tray, and went to get food.

There was a pasta today. A baked penne with tomato sauce, covered in fine slivers of cheese. It was rather pretty. Accompanied by a glass of water and a small bowl of fruit, he went and sat down, alone. Kiba and Hana had yet to lift their eyes from their food. With a gulp he sat down and pushed the canned fruit around, finding a small solace in the fact that it made squishy sounds in its own simple syrup.

"You're sitting in my spot..." Naruto's eyes darted up, into the emotionless dark orbs of the boy that always stared into nothing. Long hair hung in his face. "I sit there."

His blue eyes narrowed slightly, shifting over the boy's features. He wasn't impressed. "I don't see your name on it." A collective gasp ran through the crowd, and a few murmurs started to break the silence. One or two of the guards shifted nervously.

"That's my seat. I sit there." If those black eyes knew only one emotion that emotion was anger, which they were flooding with. "That's. My. Spot."

A voice hissed at him. "Naruto, move!" Hana had bared her teeth in a snarl, the magenta marks on her cheeks crinkling. "Come sit with us."

The blond rose from the seat, bringing him eye to eye with the black haired teen. The air filled with an invisible energy that made people uncomfortable. The boy only thought he knew anger. He hadn't seen anger. Or rage. Naruto knew rage. He felt rage. His inner eye opened to the emotion. It boiled beneath his skin. Some of it was his own, some of it...wasn't. If only he could just...let it out. He wanted to. There was a voice in the back of his head, deep and menacing.

_**Do it.**_

_**Let me out.**_

_**Do it!**_

_**Beat him, break him, kill HIM!**_

Naruto heard one of the guards fiddling with their rifle, a fiddling that put him and everyone else on edge. Hana and moved over to Kiba, the pair of them sitting with their noses twitching, muscles tense. The veterans of the prison were ready and waiting for something to happen. Something bad.

"Move over, dobe." The onyx hair boy muttered.

"After you, Jailbait..."

Now it was Kiba's turn, his voice shaking. "Naruto, back off. Don't be stupid." People were slowly inching away from the confrontation, guards placing themselves between the inmates and the incident, waiting for a repeat of last night. There was a unanimous sound of the weapons being primed.

The onyx haired boy began to twitch. "Move. Over. I'm not going to tell you again."

Naruto huffed and brushed forcefully past the boy, deciding that it wasn't worth more time in solitary. The other boy's eyes flashed at the contact, but it seemed he thought better of the situation as well. Self preservation and all that.

Hana moved over and gently patted the space beside her, as people began to settle back down, the happy chatter of any cafeteria returning. Her eyebrows quirked up, asking him if he wanted that spot.

Naruto took the invitation and sat down, letting his head rest lightly on his arms. He felt mentally drained, all the vigor that had filled him was gone now. He turned to the two sibling and smiled meekly. _'How do you start up a conversation after what I did?' _

It turned out that he didn't have to. Kiba leaned around around his sister, a serious look on his face. "Listen, Naruto, what you did to Mizuki-"

Naruto cut him off, eyes cast down, " I know, I'm sorry-"

"Was fucking awesome!" Kiba exclaimed, his face lighting up, eyes narrowing in annoyance at his friend's apology. "That bastard deserved every piece of what he got. The guy was a serial killer. Rapist, too. If he would have said that about Mom..." He elbowed Hana, grinning, "Almost made sis piss herself, though."

"Shut up, Kiba." Her eyes were lowered to her plate, shoulders tight, glancing furtively over her shoulder. "Hurry up and eat. I want to get out of here." When Kiba made a face and rolled his eyes at her, she jabbed him in the gut, her lip turned up.

"Ow! Hana..."

"Somethings wrong and I want to get out of here." Her eyes were feral with angst. "Kiba. Hurry. Up."

Naruto murmured quietly, "What's wrong?" He didn't feel like anything amiss and he had gotten a pretty good sense for when something was about to ruin his day. The thing with the dark haired kid was just a fluke. Nothing came of it. _'If a kid beside me got pissed off and turned into a rage monster, I'd be on edge too...'_

She scratched absently at her ear, her eyes darting. "I need to go outside..."

Kiba shrugged, "Then go. I want to talk to Naruto about the girl that was all over him" He said it with a sly grin, looking at the blond. Naruto instead started choking on his water with a HURK sound.

Getting up, Hana paced her way out into the courtyard, shuffling back and forth, dragging her feet. She was calmer once she was outside, both boys watched her through the bullet-proof glass windows. Kiba turned to Naruto, "So..."

"No."

"C'mon."

"No."

"Please?"

"Not a chance."

"Was she hot?"

"You're helpless..."

* * *

"They're just kids."

Medusa stared at the old man on her monitor, his eyes bordered by crow's feet. The Lord Hokage, leader of Konoha and the Overseer of the prison. He sighed and shook his head, "No, Medusa, they stopped being kids the moment they committed their crimes." There was a rustling sound on the other end and Hiruzen looked down, seemingly to read, "Assault, Assault with intent to kill, Grand Theft Auto, First Degree Murder, Third Degree Murder, Robbery, Armed Robbery, Forgery...the list goes on. They are many things, but not children."

She couldn't argue that. However, as she looked through her own list more glaring issues arose, "Alright, they aren't kids, I know that and You know that. But the audience is not going to pay to watch kids-"

Hiruzen's eyes narrowed and she cut herself off, no longer wanted to finish, "They aren't going to be apart of your experiments, Medusa. You know as well as I what they'll be doing. Do not lead them to believe otherwise."

The serpentine woman's frown deepened and she looked back down at the list, "But the people you've chosen to train them, to lead them. Your son, Asuma, and Kurenai, they're not so bad. Neither is Gai. But Mitarashi? You know how she is. And Hatake..." Hatake was on a whole different level...

"Medusa! Just...trust me. I didn't get this old by being an idiot. I know what I'm doing. Kumo started this fifteen years ago. We're behind the curve." He leaned back in his chair and stroked at his goatee, "You need the best to train the best. We have six months to get these youngsters up to par."

"Six months?!" That was insane. They'd be slaughtered.

"Yes. Six months. Don't shout. We're behind the curve. But we can't afford to appear weak. Danzo has reminded me of this far too many times." Hiruzen seemed almost bemused at the thought of his old frenemy, "They need to be guided. We don't need a repeat of Itachi. And then there's Uzumaki and the Uchiha. They need it more than any of them."

"I don't know if Naruto can handle this. There is still so much I don't know about him..."

The Hokage's eyes narrowed slightly and he shook his head, "He will handle it. He has to. This discussion is over. I'll send over the list of team's I've put together. Non negotiable."

"Fine. When this mad house crumbles around our ears, don't cry to me about it."

"It's sturdier than it seems, Medusa. Trust me."

He was really leaving her no other choice.

_'Six months...'_


End file.
